Since its inception Amazon’s platform and its Kindle devices have completely changed the book selling and marketing game for self-publish authors.
Before this amazing service and technology came into being, the likelihood of an unknown aspiring author having their book published, promoted and distributed by a reputable publishing house were slim to none.
Today, just about anyone who wants to be a published author can make the transition from literary newbie to actually having their manuscript packaged and ready for sale with just a few clicks of a mouse.
If you’re a not-so-new-kid-on-the-block and have already begun to reap the benefits of self-publishing with Kindle Books, hold on to your seat because the innovators at Amazon have upped the ante again.
A New Way to Sell Kindle eBooks
I recently stumbled upon a new feature that the Kindle developers have introduced which makes it possible for self-published authors to sell more of their books with each transaction completed on Amazon’s platform: – Kindle eBooks for Groups!
Touted by Amazon as “a new way to give Kindle books”, this new feature inspired thoughts of how self-published writers can leverage the concept of bulk purchasing and selling to distribute more books and get more exposure for their brand.
Kindle eBooks for Groups allows prospects to purchase books in bulk quantities and facilitates giving them as gifts or for utilization by a group or team of people.
Because of the well-established popularity of Kindle eBooks, this feature is undoubtedly already being used by groups of readers all over the world. These individuals are constantly searching for fiction and non-fiction books that contain ideas and information that they can read, share and discuss.
Now what’s does all of that have to do with you and your self-publishing career?
Instead of focusing exclusively on creating books for individuals, diversify your portfolio and sell many more copies of your work by also looking for opportunities to create books that are best purchased by groups of people. For example: book clubs, study groups, business groups and self-improvement groups, among many others.
Identifying Potential Groups for Book Creation
Finding groups and gathering ideas for the kinds of eBook products they want is a fairly simple and straightforward process.
- Be clear about your ideal audience
The first step to developing eBooks that you can easily market to groups is knowing the kinds of people you want to target.
Human beings are social creatures that thrive on gathering together and sharing common interests and the internet is a perfect vehicle for uniting people from all around the world and every walk of life.
If you are able to use this to your advantage and identify clusters of people with similar goals, wants and interests you’ll have a much easier time figuring out the kinds of information they need to solve their biggest problems and fulfill specific needs.
- Understand why your prospects buy specific books
Once you identify the audience you want to target with your books, the next step is understanding what makes your prospects tick and prompts them to purchase the books they buy.
For example, in recent years the Law of Attraction has become a global phenomenon. Groups of people all over the world gather in several corners of the internet to study the ideas behind the concept and to support each other in their goals of manifesting their dreams.
The opportunity in this scenario is that followers of the Law of Attraction tend to love sharing new information about the topic with others that share the common interest.
If you were a creator of books in this niche, you would stand a very good chance of having your offers purchased and shared among members of this community of people.
And if you wanted an even better chance of your book being purchased en masse and shared?
You could write a book that focuses on using the Law of Attraction for a very specific reason such as manifesting the perfect vacation home or growing income to seven figures a year.
- Market your books with group dynamics in mind.
Once you identify your ideal audience and know why they buy the books they buy, the last step is using group-focused marketing strategies to promote and encourage multiple purchases of your books.
Let’s say you write books about enhancing business productivity.
Your focus could be on marketing the books to business managers that want to encourage their team members to use proven methods, tips and tools for enhancing their productivity in the workplace.
If several managers end up buying your book to train their team members, each transaction results in a much larger total sales price.
Finding Ideas for Group-Focused Books
The more niche your audience’s interests are, the easier it is for you to find ideas for creating the types of books they want to read.
Let’s take for example the realm of children’s books.
There are thousands upon thousands of authors around the world creating literature that excites and thrills little kids who love nothing more than snuggling up and listening to a great story.
Instead of creating a generic story book, how about creating a very specific book that tells the story of a child with special needs?
Parents who have kids with special needs would likely be encouraged to buy and share copies of your book with other parents who also have kids with special needs.
The more unique the concept behind your book is, the higher your chances of that book being purchased and shared by people with similar backgrounds.
With over two billion regular users, Facebook is an almost inexhaustible source of ideas for groups to target with your books.
A quick search of any general topic in the search bar quickly reveals several groups with fans of that particular subject matter.
If the group is public, finding your inspiration is as simple as taking a few minutes to browse through the content to identify topics that have its members abuzz. Use this information to craft and promote books specific to the interests of each group you discover.
Google Plus
Another promising source of ideas for books to create and publish for bulk sales is Google Plus.
As a part of the Google network of apps, Google Plus has its fair share of users. Even though it’s not the goliath that Facebook is, you can still find gems in terms of very niche groups to target with your self-published books.
With groups that span interests such as butterflies, art illustration, DIY home improvement, photography, Photoshop, tiny houses, solar powered energy, comic books, time management and more, Google Plus can help you generate many ideas for books that appeal to very specific niches.
Reddit is perhaps the largest forum-based community website on the internet.
Founded in 2005, Reddit now boasts over 1.2 million sub-reddits or forums that each represent a different niche that interests people who gather to discuss specific topics of interest.
If you take the time to comb through sub-reddits that cover topics of interest to you, you’re sure to find inspiration for books you can create and market to these groups. The books will likely be purchased in bulk and given as gifts or as material for further discussion in these groups.
Imagine doing the marketing legwork once and selling 20 copies of your book to one buyer from a niche book club?
Kindle Books for Groups has the potential to skyrocket your online book sales if you take the time to do the research and create the kinds of offers that are well suited to each group of prospects.
Was not aware of this feature – thanks for sharing another avenue for us to consider with our eBooks. Being in the personal development segment this could be of a huge benefit to my series, Permission Granted Today, which currently has 55 titles already published on Kindle.